FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Students Congratulate Internet MANA on Free Tertiary Policy
Press Release: New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations
12 September 2014
The New Zealand Union of Students’ Associations (NZUSA) has welcomed today’s launch of the Internet MANA Party’s
tertiary education, with the restoration of free education and universal access to liveable allowances at its core.
“Internet MANA has put the issue of free tertiary education at the centre of their political programme, identifying it
as crucial to eliminating poverty and developing a New Zealand that can be successful socially and economically. We
welcome the message that has been traversing around the country now being codified and costed in their policy”, said
Daniel Haines, President of NZUSA.
“What the policy shows is that there is an affordable and reasonable answer to the financial distress that user-pays
education places on students and their families, and we can eliminate the current burden of those policies on New
Zealand and its future.”
“Eradicating fees and loans means that education becomes about the student and their ability to succeed, not about the
size of their parents’ wallets. Not only that, but it enables all New Zealanders to maximise our potential. It shows as
a nation we value smart solutions, want to boost productivity and work towards a shared vision for the future.”
“Internet MANA correctly identify that education is a public good and needs to be publically funded. Those who have
already had the benefit of free tertiary education system are able to pay it forward and support the next generation.
Businesses in New Zealand will perform better as our best and brightest will produce higher levels of productivity.
“The work that Internet MANA has done shows that abolishing fees, eradicating the burden of being a student and giving
every fulltime student enough to live on is easily achievable, it’s just a question of priority for the next government.
Their costings are accurate and consistent with both our own analysis and published government figures.”
“Free education should be a priority for every political party. Of 127,000 respondents to TVNZ’s Vote Compass 53%
support free education. Two-thirds of current students who participated in NZUSA’s recent survey of 5000 students across
universities and polytechnics also support free education.”
“Over half the countries in the OECD have free education, and Ireland, Austria and Germany have all reversed their
failed experiments with fees within the last two decades. It’s time New Zealand did too. We welcome Internet MANA making
free tertiary education a key election priority.”
ENDS